Folgers Markets a New Coffee to Cost-Cutting Home Brewers

IN the 24 years since coffee drinkers were first told that “the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup,” the statement has become harder to defend.

The competition — shops like Starbucks, Cosi or Caribou — can now be found on every corner, all brewing coffee made from pricey Arabica beans. Mainstays like Folgers — which relies on less expensive Robusta beans — have competed by focusing on cost-conscious home brewers, often by introducing flavored coffees or specialty brews.

Now Folgers, which is still the top-selling packaged coffee in the United States, is trying to lure customers with an approach to roasting that it calls “the biggest innovation since the launch of decaf.”

The company will unveil the roasting method with an ad campaign that it says is the most expensive in the history of the brand.

“Over the last 8 to 10 years, we have been working on ways to drive technology to improve the cup-to-cup consistency and flavor quality of our coffee,” said Jamie Egasti, president of coffee for Procter & Gamble. This year, Procter & Gamble sold the Folgers brand to the J. M. Smucker Company for $2.95 billion in stock. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year.

P.& G. has overhauled its main roasting plant in east New Orleans — which employs more than 400 people — to include a step it calls “predry” or “preroast.” Each bean is fully dried before roasting, ensuring a more evenly cooked bean, which makes it less bitter.

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A scene from the new Folgers TV commercial that features the sounds heard in a kitchen, such as the opening of drawers, the tinkling of a spoon in a coffee cup and the squeaking of slippers.

“This is the largest technical investment in our roasting facility we have done,” Mr. Egasti said.

Jim Trout, innovation leader for research and development, at P.& G., said: “It’s like thawing a turkey before you cook it. If you don’t, the outside will be burnt and the inside will still be raw. This way it cooks evenly all the way through.”

While the company is realistic about its chances of swaying those in the habit of drinking Starbucks coffee, Folgers believes there is room to win customers among those who brew at home.

“Given the economy, there is an opportunity to underscore what Folgers offers with people who may have been going out more frequently than they do today,” said Marnie Kain-Cacossa, executive vice president, global equity director at Saatchi & SaatchiNew York, Folger’s ad agency of more than 50 years.

The ad campaign includes a TV commercial, print ads, in-store signage, coupons and Web banner ads. The packaging of Folgers’ coffee has also been overhauled to include information about the roasting process.

The 30-second TV spot features a man in pajamas preparing coffee as the sounds of a typical morning — kitchen drawers opening, slippers squeaking, a spoon clinking inside a mug — are heard at high volume. The sound effects are intended to deliver a “heightened sense of reality that mirrors the enhanced coffee,” Ms. Kain-Cacossa said.

Saatchi & Saatchi created the campaign, as well as the “Best part of waking up” jingle, which first aired in 1984. The jingle appears in the new TV spot, though without lyrics. Ms. Kain-Cacossa said research showed that the jingle was recognizable to consumers without the slogan.

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Folgers new print ad featuring preroasted coffee beans.

The spot will first appear Sept. 29, and run largely on women-oriented networks like Lifetime, HGTV, Food Network and the Soap Network. Neither P.& G. nor Saatchi would disclose a specific budget for the campaign, but it is expected to be in the low six figures. Ms. Kain-Cacossa called it “the largest marketing investment in the history of Folgers.”

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Print and Web ads will focus on images of the red Folgers canister transformed into a roaster, with copy reading, “Every mountain-grown bean of Folgers is roasted with care, using just the right amount of heat. So every morning, you can wake up to rich, pure taste.”

This is not the first time that Folgers has tried to keep pace with the changing tastes of coffee drinkers. The company introduced flavored coffees in 2002, and in 2006 released gourmet roasts with names like caramel drizzle and espresso roast. It has even introduced a variety called Simply Smooth, intended to lessen the chance for an upset stomach.

A coffee industry analyst and consultant, Judy Ganes, said that despite the change in consumer coffee habits in the last decade, Folger’s and Maxwell House were still by far the dominant coffee brands on the market and could capture an even greater share as consumers on a budget return to home brewing.

“People may be willing to forgo the high end but don’t want to have a bad cup of coffee either,” she said. “When people are trying to watch their wallets, they may be willing to give this a try.”

That shift has yet to show itself in the marketplace. According to the National Coffee Association, 17 percent of adults in the United States drank a gourmet coffee beverage every day in 2007, a record high. Over all, coffee consumption dipped to 80 percent of the population in 2007, down from 82 percent the year before.

The sale of Folgers was part of an effort by P.& G. to refocus on core businesses, namely global health and beauty brands, and those that show growth of at least 4 percent annually. Folgers grew by about that much in 2007, but is sold only in North America.

“The margins that you can earn in the health and beauty space are significantly above those in food and beverage,” Mr. Egasti said.

Correction: September 22, 2008

The Advertising column on Friday, about a marketing campaign by Folgers coffee, misstated the type of coffee beans used by a rival, Maxwell House. It primarily uses Arabica beans, not the less expensive Robusta.

A version of this article appears in print on , on page C10 of the New York edition with the headline: Folgers Markets a New Coffee To Cost-Cutting Home Brewers. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe